One trick to making your own theater lights is having the correct electrical system to run them. After all, you need as many breakers and dimmers as you do lights so that each can be controlled individually. A home-made light box, or line of outlets into which lights can be plugged, provides you this level of control for an affordable price. Anyone with a some electrical knowledge can easily wire four or five breaker lines to a corresponding number of dimmer switches. Placing the dimmers outside the box allows for some degree of fire safety as well as remote control.
Though professional theaters use several different kinds of stationary lights, you can recreate many of the same effects with a few simple modifications to the basic clamp light found at any hardware store. Avoid florescent lights as they will not work well with the dimmers on the light box. Instead, a standard 60-watt bulb will probably do the trick, though you may experiment with lower wattages to produce a fuzzier center focus. Colored gels can be purchased from music or theater supply stores. You can make shutters yourself out of pliable sheet metal to control the size of the beam. Attach the gel to the metal casing surrounding the clamp light's bulb with metal clasps. Shutters are more difficult and may require welding, but after they are properly attached are pliable enough to go around any gel and can be further adjusted to control the beam.
Follow spots, in professional lighting are large, easily focused lights that sit on a pivot so they can be moved to follow actors around the theater. Depending on how intense and focused a beam you need, you may be able to get away with using a high-powered flashlight. Gels can be easily added to just about any light, and flashlights are easy to move. For a sharper look, or for lighting an otherwise dark area, it is necessary to build your own follow spot using a clamp light, a floodlight bulb and pliable sheet metal. A heavy-duty tripod or any other sturdy piece with a pivot will work as the base. On this base will sit the spotlight, which is made by creating a tube around the clamp light, using the casing as a guide to diameter. You will need to cover both ends of the tube with metal; no light should be able to get through the back piece, but you will need to cut a hole in the front that is smaller than the diameter of the bulb in the lamp. The size of the hole determines how big your spot will be. From here, you can use the same kind of gel work and home-made shutters to further control the beam.